MP requests for additional police officers

Kapiri Mposhi, July 11, ZANIS —– Kapiri Mposhi Constituency Member of Parliament, Eddie Musonda has bemoaned the low number of Police officers in the area.

Mr Musonda said Kapiri Mposhi district was facing huge security challenges and needed sufficient police presence to respond to the increased crime rates being perpetrated and recorded in the area.

In an interview with ZANIS in Kapiri mposhi today, Mr Musonda revealed that the Police station in the district was under staffed as it had only 70 police officers serving a population of over 240,000 people.

Mr Musonda said 70 police officers were not enough to provide security needs to the entire population in the district and numerous travellers using the road and railway network via the area.

“We only have 70 police officers to man the entire district and the newly created Ngabwe district this means that the ratio is one police officer to provide security to over 3,300 people and travellers as you know Kapiri Mposhi is at the junction of three major roads and two railways now this is very risky”, Mr Musonda said.

The parliamentarian noted that some people in the area were taking advantage of the insufficient numbers of police officers to engage in criminal activities.

Mr Musonda said the security situation was frightening considering the level of crime in the area.

He said due to inadequate number of police officers to conduct patrols, some motorists along the Great North Road in Kapiri Mposhi have had their goods stolen from their motor vehicles while locals have been experiencing spates of armed robberies.

Mr Musonda has since urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to deploy more police officers to the district and facilitate the construction of Police stations in some densely populated and crime prone areas such as Matiliyo, Lukomba, Ndeke and Soweto.

And Mr Musonda has further requested for the construction of a prison facility in Kapiri Mposhi district.